A sugar free month - anyone else fancy giving it a go?

[HearMyRoar]

I Have been thinking about giving up sugar for a long time now but haven't really felt ready. I have decided that now is the time and so am aiming for a sugar free month from the 6 january.

I figured starting with a month seemed less scary then giving it up forever and reasonably achievable... I hope :o

Still working out my rules but currently they are:

No sugar
No sugar substitutes
No processed food with any sort of sugar or sugar substitute in

So pretty simple so far. I am not giving up the carbs so still eating rice, bread, etc (I am nowhere near ready for boot camp). Also planning on still eating lots of fruit though probably not juice. All this is open to negotiations and suggestions.

Anyone fancy joining me? Go on....please... Anyone...

Can I join?

Giving up sugar from yesterday. I know I'm an addict. It's gonna be hard but I am determined.

Really interesting article in the Sunday times magazine yesterday inspired me. Can't link as it's behind paywall but if you can get hold of it. Really good.

Had porridge with a quarter apple for breakfast. Thinking omelette for lunch. The fridge is still full of sweet treats. Kids get so much given to them and I feel like chucking it all out.

We are all doing it, so no honey on their cereal this morning. There were grumbles!

Hi all, great to see some new faces! Germangirl, I hear you. I reach for sugar for just about any reason and no reason.

Pumpkin that sounds like my approach, and it's going much better this time than it ever has previously (cold turkey makes me so ill).

Toddlewaddle (love the nn!) I am on day 6 and I have lost over a kilo! Take heart, if you're a true sugar addict you should see results fairly rapidly.

Naebother I don't have a subscription (DM does, might see if I can pop over later and have a look). Could you summarise the main points of the article?

I'm starting today (..accidental sugar binge yesterday...but I'd planned to start today anyhow) can't wait to start feeling energised and hopefully have clearer skin! It's going to be tough isn't it .....

Yes mulberrybag it is . Getting over the first couple of days was the worst, but I'm still resisting the urge to break open the christmas Toblerone! The more I readabout the damage sugar causes over the long term, the more determined I am not to succumb!

It's terrifying, isn't it, Beryl!

I'd like to join in too.
Am I too late though? I've just had some chocolate though so that's the end of it I hope!
I've eaten far too many sugary type stuff. I'm also cutting out processed carbs. We don't eat much of it at home anyway, so it's not hard, but do have biscuits, homemade cake etc for treats so I need to cut that out.
Also for the children who's been spoilt over christmas with treats, so I'm doing it for them too.
I don't need to lose weight, just want to eat healthier.

It's terrifying, isn't it, Beryl!

Summary to follow. Dh has taken it to work!

I know womnaleplus I half wish I'd never found out so I could continue to enjoy all my sugary favourites. I'm hoping I will eventually stop missing it...

Can anyone please recommend any fizzy drinks which don't contain sugar or aspartame (or any other undesirables??) or is that a mission impossible??

Fizzy water?

David Gillespie mentions lucozade original as an option although it does contain glucose so is only ok if giving up fructose. Looking at the ingrediants list there is all sorts of flavourings and colours too to worry about.

Had a bagel binge this afternoon - sigh - oh well onwards and upwards.....

Has anyone been able to find a supplier of dextrose in decent quantities?
DG recommends it instead of sugar for baking.

Doh!- Amazon of course...
www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Source-Nutrion-Dextrose-Powder/dp/B00E3SVHGQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1389031904&sr=8-6&keywords=dextrose+powder

Beryl, I read that adding a bit of citric acid to fizzy water tastes ok - or how about a squeeze of lemon/lime/orange? Not exactly sugar free, but a darned sight better than coke or pepsi, surely?

First day for me, also, although I don' t plan to do it as deeply as some people. Ie. i plan to give up cakes, biscuits, hot chocolate, alcohol etc, but am not bothered about bread. Also, I'll eat fruit and fruit juice.

First day without sugar. I was stressed, constantly tired and starting crying for no reason around dinner time. But I did it.

Well done first dayers!

As I near the end of my 1st week I've decided that I am now ready to give up the Pepsi Max - I'm anticipating headaches for the next few days. Thanks womnaleplus, I might try your suggestion if I get really desperate, but to begin with I'm going to try to stick with either water or milk (I tried a glass earlier, it was surprisingly nice!).

Started today too (monday, kids back to school etc) Keep trying to cut out sugar in the past, but fail miserably by day 5 or week 2. So joining the post as I realise I need the support of others to keep momentum up.

Today - no bread, no sugar, no fruit - plenty protein & veg, hot water + lemon (surprisingly OK!), tea / coffee as normal.

My problem is I can't cut out a glass at wine-o'clock. Does that rule me out??

Tbf ging I think we're all doing slightly different things so if you want to include wine, that's fine! I'm still having bread and fruit at the moment.

as long as it isn't sweet alcohol it is ok - although alcohol is also addictive and bad for us in similar ways to sugar it shouldn't be too relevant to the sugar addiction.

I had my first food fantasy yesterday - the cravings are obviously working their way into my conscious mind. Never mind, still resisting sugar so far. Just need to fill myself up at lunch more I think to avoid the need to snack excessively on other things in the afternoons.

Good luck to everyone on day 2!

Good morning all, may I join you?

for everyone here.

I first read this thread a week ago, and everything that was said resonated with me so much, as I had noticed that whenever I ate anything with sugar mainly chocolate lots of it every day I would have a severely upset stomach.
So, I decided there and then to go cold turkey, and the difference in me is amazing. I have more energy, no more upset stomachs, and as a bonus I've lost 4lb in weight.
If I get a craving now (which is rare) I either drink water, nibble some plain popcorn, or both!
The hardest test though is going to be today, as I am back to work. There is a cafe I have to walk by in the building, with heaps of chocolate bars that taunt you as you walk by.

Wish me luck - will be back later !

I am a bit mystified by what is sugar and what isn't. Obv chocolate is really just sugar and has not much cocoa content, it is the sugar that reels you in each time.

But a banana is 50 per cent sugar? WTF?

I am trying Greek-style yoghurt with berries ie grapes, blueberries, a few strawbs from Tesco. It tastes great, really sumptuous, but is this another thing that will turn out to have sugar in it? At any rate it isn't as bad as choccie bars I guess.

Is all bread sugary, I mean surely some is okay? bTW, I have to say the Pret breakfast baguettes seem to have a lot of salt, esp the egg, which of course makes you want to have something sweet to compensate.

Professor, it depends on what you're trying to achieve - if you want to stop eating sugary crap, you just need to do what you're doing and avoid the added stuff.

At the other end of the spectrum are those avoiding all sugars, including lactose (your Greek yogurt) and fructose (any fruit, also the basic component of the super evil high fructose corn syrup). Being super strict would mean skipping all refined carbohydrates as the body converts them into simple sugars as part of the digestion process. Your carbs would come from veg.

In the middle there are those who intend to avoid most carbs and alcohol, as well as high sugar fruits. Some fruits are much lower in fructose - including strawberries and most other berries! I am also continuing to eat live yogurt as it contains beneficial bacteria which I think are really helpful for us sugar addicts, as it's likely our gut flora are totally out of whack.

Sadly this doesn't include tesco Greek style yogurt as it's pasteurised! Try Total full fat instead, or invest in an Easiyo yogurt maker and make your own. I got one for Xmas and they're amazing! Fresh live yogurt every morning!

Yesterday I ate the last of the christmas chocolates, so I'm starting the no sugar thing today. So far...hmm..ok but I so want to have something sweet with my coffee. I didn't realise how much I craved something sweet after a meal too. I don't tend to eat bars of chocolate, it's just one biscuit, couple of pieces of choc or a sugary yoghurt type thing that I normally eat, and it's going to be tough to give that up totally.
I'm not giving up fruit(I'm not a big fruit eater anyway, prefer veg) or carbs, just processed carbs and added sugar. Added sugar is in so many things, it's quite a big thing in itself I feel!

That reminds me, I make lovely sugar free banana bread and flapjacks. Haven't done it for awhile, so will get baking this week.

Thanks Womnaleplus (what does that name mean?), that's very helpful, shame I just went out and bought Tesco Low Fat and Tesco No Fat Greek yoghurt in my lunchbreak!

That said, would heartily advise choceyes to do the Greek yoghurt thing, it's very tasty and I do seem to have more energy today (though that may be from a good night's sleep too...) Has to be better than choc rubbish and helps to wean you off the whole sugar debacle.

To go cold turkey on sugar may just be too hard, though it's simple enough I suppose; just meat and veg all day, with some eggs.